Espresso Anyone?

 

This unusual building on Davenport Rd houses a company that imports and services high-end espresso machines. The building looks to me like the type that would have been a gas station when it first opened.  It could use a bit of work.

Taking part in Signs 2. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.

Lovely Garden

 I tend to show a lot of large homes in the older parts of the city but as you move out a bit from the older parts you find many houses similar to this one which were built after WWll. There are many little enclaves of these homes with 2 bedrooms, kitchen, living room, and a bathroom and they were affordable. It feels like we should be looking at building small homes again to deal with the housing shortages everywhere.

Canada Geese

 I'll have to go by this restaurant in the Yorkville neighbourhood in winter when there are no umbrellas up so that we could get a good look at this mural of Canada Geese. The parts that we can see are wonderfully done. I have no idea who the artist is for this one as the signature is probably hidden by some diners. 

Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world.

Tulips

 

The interior of these red tulips reminded me of a kaleidoscope and I loved the vibrant red.

Blackbird Sitting In A Tree

 

This handsome fellow was sitting high in a tree in James Gardens singing away. Another Blackbird further away was answering back so there was quite a choir. Red-wing Blackbirds are always a sign to me that spring is really here.

Taking part in Saturday's Critters. Click HERE to see more creatures from around the world.

A Neighbourhood Library

 This is the Weston Library which is in the Weston neighbourhood of the city. Weston was a small farm town outside the city but many years ago the city grew and engulfed it. The library was built in 1914 with a Carnegie Foundation grant and still retains the style of those times.

Balconies

Yet another condo building is springing up in the Annex neighbourhood but this one seems like it may be rather interesting looking judging by the balconies. I had been walking by it when the crane started to lift a huge panel of something heavy above where I was walking and as I turned to look back the blue sky was amazing.

Changes

 I showed you this small laneway building back in February HERE in a shot that was taken quite a while ago. I went by recently to discover that the building had been altered and now has a second floor and has become a laneway house.

It had originally been a post for Signs 2 and I will add the link to include this change HERE. 

Spring Is Bursting Out

While out for a walk along a trail by the Humber river I happened upon this small stream and all the new growth that was popping up around it. It really felt like spring is here.

Soli Soul

 This mural was found painted along a very narrow laneway in the Annex neighbourhood and is meant to show the value of the work of local farmers. The artist for this one is Leeay Aikawa who wants to promote the value of buying from local farmers rather than big box stores.

Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world.

A Display

 This is yesterday's duck who put on quite a display as one of the male Mallards walked towards it. The Mallard stopped in his tracks.

A Mystery To Me

 In a pond quite full of male Mallard Ducks there was this one unusual duck. It was a lot larger than the rest of the ducks. I wonder if it is some kind of cross with a domestic one. Any ideas?

Taking part in Saturday's Critters. Click HERE to see more creatures from around the world.

Spring Beauty

With the cooler temperatures we have been having the Magnolia flowers are lasting quite a long time. I took this shot a week ago at James Gardens and loved the white flowers against the green background.

More Vintage Bikes

 Some bikes were more approachable at the bike gathering than the ones I showed you yesterday that were roped off to keep them safe. These bikes were old but not quite as trendy and were attracting a lot of attention from the crowds.

May Theme: Bicycles

The May theme for the City Daily Photo Blog community is Bicycles/Cyclists. For this theme I went to my archives for a pic taken at a vintage bike event held in a park downtown a couple of years ago. I love these beauties which were for sale but not cheap by any means.

For more examples of the theme click HERE to see bikes from all over the world.

A Strange Sight

 I'm not sure why but this Batmobile was actually in the St Patrick's Day parade. I have no idea what the connection would be to Ireland but maybe some of you may have an idea.  I didn't think of posting it with the rest of the parade pics.

A Mother

 I was wandering through a small townhouse development and happened to look down a driveway and spotted this huge mural painted on the side of one of the buildings. The female figure looks like a mother to me, perhaps of the whole neighbourhood or maybe even Mother Earth. I quite like it but the space was limited so I couldn't get back far enough to get all of the edges into the shot. There was no artist info.

Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world.

Popping Up In The Laneways

Ever since the city legalized the construction of laneway houses they have been popping up all over the older parts of the city where there are laneways. This one replaced what had been a double garage so it is wider than a lot of them.

A New Resident

This handsome fellow turned up at our door recently looking for shelter so of course we took him in. The artist who did all the wonderful beadwork is Norman Chamisa. 

Taking part in Saturday's Critters. Click HERE to see more creatures from around the world.

A Spot of Colour

I was out looking for daffodils when I spotted several of these bright blooms in someone's front garden. I think they are Ranunculus which I have bought in bouquets but have never seen them growing. This garden had had a few little protective tents scattered about their garden through the winter and I think they were there to protect these plants. I love the colour!

Lovey Daffodils

 The Daffodils are flowering and luckily the weather has been a bit cool so the blooms are lasting well. I wish their little heads would look up a bit though. They always seem to be looking down a bit.

Life's A Beech ....

 I thought this was a rather clever sign from the city advertising their program to  have a tree planted in front of your home for free. There is a big push on here to plant more trees in the city.

Taking part in Signs 2. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.

Special Balloons

I was at an art show last week and one of the installations featured these iridescent balloons which were changing colour as the lighting on them changed. They were really fascinating. There were no children there but I can imagine that a child would have been spellbound by these. The photo can't capture what the eye sees all the time.

Inclusion

This is another mural painted around the construction on Spadina Rd near the Alliance Francaise. It too was painted by Celia Pang and has all types of wonderful images included in it. There was no way to get a shot without the railings. 

Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world.

Seems Early To Me

This Magnolia is always the first one that I see in bloom and this year it seems to be earlier than ever. Earlier this week it had already started to drop petals when most of the other Magnolias haven't even opened the flowers yet.

Silhouette Of A Squirrel

I always liked those old silhouette portraits of people and this black squirrel against the sky reminded me of them. The squirrel looks like it is hunkered down against the cold wind but it was actually trying to open a really hard nut of some type. 

Taking part in Saturday's Critters. Click HERE to see more creatures from around the world.

Scilla

 There are great patches of Scilla flowering all over the city. I love to see the rivers of blue running through gardens although this patch was spotted in a section of a gravel driveway. So pretty.

More On The Gem

 In December there was the horrible news on the radio that there had been a fire at The Gem. The building didn't look bad and everyone hoped that it would soon reopen but in March the longtime owner announced that it was closed for good. The end of an era. This is how the front looks today although if you peek through some of the window coverings much work is being done inside so maybe something else will become a landmark in the area.

The Gem

 This is the sign from The Gem which was a great small place on Davenport Rd which at one point in my life I visited several times a week. It was full of eclectic things and friendly regulars and they would always whip up something from the kitchen for you even after service was finished for the day. I'll tell you a bit more about the place tomorrow. 

Taking part in Signs 2. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.

More In The Laneway

This laneway house is rather large compared to most of them as the lot was quite wide. I quite like it but it is too bad that some fools tagged the concrete panels.

Respect

This mural was spotted on the barriers around city construction near the Alliance Francaise on Spadina Rd and hence the bilingual messages. The artist for this one is Celia Pang aka Dreamdoodle who worked with students from several schools. There are some good thoughts included on this one.

Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world.

Waiting

Before I totally leave Bloor St and the parade route for the St Patrick's Day parade I thought that I would show you a pre-parade pic. That wonderful building behind the waiting spectators is the York Club which is a members only social club that has been here since the early 1900s although the building is from 1892. The sky gives you an idea of the conditions on the day of the parade - we had snow, sun, a bit of rain, and a lot of wind but it was all fun.

Sleepy Time

I don't think I have ever seen a duck with its head tucked under a wing as far as this one has. She was really tired so her mate was keeping watch for her.

Taking part in Saturday's Critters. Click HERE to see more creatures from around the world.

Last Of The Parade

 I'm going to end my pics of the St Patrick's Day parade with this shot of yet another bagpipe band. There were a few in the parade. There were also large groups of people from various Irish counties marching and really a lot of people from unions all over the city. Everyone seemed to be having a grand time.

More Great Colours

 I forget which group this was but they put on a good show at the St Patrick's Day parade. They were almost perfectly in sync as they marched along doing a nice routine.

Wonderful Music At The Parade

 Our St Patrick's Day parade is as multi-cultural as our city and one of the star groups in this year's parade for me was the York Lions Steel Band. There is something wonderful about the sound from a steel band. The band is made up of young people from York which is one of the areas of the city and they perform at many events around town. Lucky for them the sun had come out while they were going along Bloor St.

Taking part in Signs 2. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.

More Dancers

There were a few Irish Dance school groups marching and dancing in the St Patrick's Day parade. I was near the start of the parade but I bet they were tired by the end and those girls with short sleeves must have been cold as it was a cool windy day.

On The Road To Somewhere

 This seems like a perfect subject for a garage door.  The artist for this one is Colin Tea and I think I have seen a few others by him in the same area.

Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world.

Bagpipes

There were several bands in the St Patrick's Day parade playing bagpipes. I liked the red kilts worn by this band.

The Fire Hall Dog

There was a huge contingent of Toronto Fire service people marching in the St Patrick's Day parade and they brought their Dalmation dog with them. It was a cool/cold day and so the dog wore 2 coats and a scarf to keep warm. Who could resist the smile on the Fireman's face? 

Taking part in Saturday's Critters. Click HERE to see more creatures from around the world.

The Dancers

These women were part of the Mexican group marching in the St Patrick's Day parade and for most of the parade they were dancing and twirling away but no twirls when they were in front of me. I love the colourful dresses.

Having Fun

The Mexicans seemed to be having a lot of fun as they marched along in the St Patrick's Day parade. I was at the start of the parade and wonder if the energy ran out by the end a few miles later.

A Tribute

 There was a very large group of Mexicans who marched and danced in our St Patrick's Day parade as a tribute to the many Irish who fought with Mexico in the Mexican-American war. They formed the St Patrick Batallion.

Taking part in Signs 2. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.

Leading Off The Parade

 I went to our St Patrick's Day parade on March 17 and found a good spot near the beginning of the parade for viewing. These handsome police horses and their riders lead off the parade as usual.

April Theme: Medicine

 The April theme for the City Daily Photo Blog community is Medicine and for this one I offer a shot of the Garrison Creek Toronto Western Family Health team which is a multi-faceted team of health care professionals working together and is a satellite part of the Toronto Western Hospital. There are family doctors, nurses, dietitians and more all offering a range of services.

Taking part in the theme Medicine. Click HERE to see more takes on the theme from around the world. 

The mural running along the window lists all the services they provide. Find more murals at Monday Murals HERE.

Happy Easter!

I hope everyone got lots of treats for the day. A talented member of our family made the great table runner for us to mark the day!

A Sweet Couple

 There are couples of Canada Geese wandering around all over the city as they get ready to build nests and start a family. This fairly calm pair was spotted at James Gardens and they were paying little attention to the humans which is not always the case as often the geese go into protective mode and become very noisy.

Taking part in Saturday's Critters. Click HERE to see more creatures from around the world.

Not Just The Door

 It is not just the door of this garage that is decorated with shells but the whole side of it as well. I couldn't get a straight on shot because of parked cars but I think this gives you the idea. The whole front of the house is decorated with things too and even the homeowners van is covered in little things.

What A Garage!

There is a house in the Seaton Village neighbourhood (which is right beside the Annex neighbourhood) that is almost totally decorated with bits of wood attached to it. This is the garage belonging to that house and all that patterning is made by shells that have been glued on to it. The only part not shells is the section below the roof that has small bits of wood. The interesting thing is that no one ever seems to vandalize this place. I'll show another view of it tomorrow.

Escape

I'm not really overly familiar with escape rooms but apparently this place has several  different kinds. Sometimes the idea of a place to escape to sounds better than escaping from. A quiet relaxing place would do the trick.

Taking part in Signs 2. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.